Selected Works
Source: ER-Archive Remscheid
*Further source and copyright information can be found in the imprint section (under 'contact').
Albertinum. Art from Romantiscism to the present // Mosaic Hall: From Classicism to Ernst Rietschel // Photo: David Brandt (2010) // Mosaic Hall: From Classicism to Ernst Rietschel / / © State Art Collections in Dresden / / Utilization allowed only with permission and source citation.
Astrid Nielsen - Ernst Rietschel's work from the "Mosaic Hall" of the Albertinum
Since its opening as a museum of sculpture collections in 1894, the Albertinum has been known as the "Mosaic Hall" ("Mosaiksaal"). The name originated from the large Roman mosaic that was place in the floor of the upper part of the hall.
Since the reopening of the Albertinum in June of 2010, the Mosaic Hall has featured the art of Classicism, including the late Classical works of Dresden’s leading sculptors, Ernst Rietschel und Ernst Julius Hähnel. The work of artists such as Bertel Thorvaldsen, Christian Daniel Rauch, Gottfried Schadow, and Jean Pierre Antoine Tassaert, transport artistic ideals which originated in the classical times of ancient Greece and Antiquity, and depict (whether in the form of portraiture or sculpture), charm, grace, beauty, and youthfulness within unity of shape and purity of the white marble. It is these similarities within the Roman Mosaic, with which an evident and harmonic consonance evolves.
Depicted above are some of Ernst Rietschel's most important works. Included in these is the casting model of the Colossal Statue of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, which was erected in Braunschweig in 1849. Within the cast, Rietschel, programmatically refrained from anything that would make the statue appear disdainful. Instead, he stressed a more realistic approach through expression and contemporary clothing. Also pictured, is an image of the double statue of Johann Wolfgang von Goethes and Friedrich Schillersof that stands in front of the National Theater in Weimar, which Rietschel was commissioned to create in 1852. "The Music", one of the two pediment models on display at the First Dresden Court Theater (destroyed in a 1896 fire), was one of the most eloquent testimonies of Rietschel's great expertise and skill. Here, Rietschel succeeded in creating a rich group of characters in an almost painterly effect, wherein, he developed an imaginary drama surrounding gestures, expressions, and continuous variety in his composition. In 1832, shortly after his employment as a professor of sculpture at the Royal Academy of Art for the leading portraitists of royalty and the Saxon bourgeoisie, a few of Rietschel's finest portrait busts, such as the composer Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy and that of his own wife's, were featured.
*Further source and copyright information can be found in the imprint section (under 'contact').
Albertinum. Art from Romantiscism to the present // Mosaic Hall: From Classicism to Ernst Rietschel // Photo: David Brandt (2010) // Mosaic Hall: From Classicism to Ernst Rietschel / / © State Art Collections in Dresden / / Utilization allowed only with permission and source citation.
Astrid Nielsen - Ernst Rietschel's work from the "Mosaic Hall" of the Albertinum
Since its opening as a museum of sculpture collections in 1894, the Albertinum has been known as the "Mosaic Hall" ("Mosaiksaal"). The name originated from the large Roman mosaic that was place in the floor of the upper part of the hall.
Since the reopening of the Albertinum in June of 2010, the Mosaic Hall has featured the art of Classicism, including the late Classical works of Dresden’s leading sculptors, Ernst Rietschel und Ernst Julius Hähnel. The work of artists such as Bertel Thorvaldsen, Christian Daniel Rauch, Gottfried Schadow, and Jean Pierre Antoine Tassaert, transport artistic ideals which originated in the classical times of ancient Greece and Antiquity, and depict (whether in the form of portraiture or sculpture), charm, grace, beauty, and youthfulness within unity of shape and purity of the white marble. It is these similarities within the Roman Mosaic, with which an evident and harmonic consonance evolves.
Depicted above are some of Ernst Rietschel's most important works. Included in these is the casting model of the Colossal Statue of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, which was erected in Braunschweig in 1849. Within the cast, Rietschel, programmatically refrained from anything that would make the statue appear disdainful. Instead, he stressed a more realistic approach through expression and contemporary clothing. Also pictured, is an image of the double statue of Johann Wolfgang von Goethes and Friedrich Schillersof that stands in front of the National Theater in Weimar, which Rietschel was commissioned to create in 1852. "The Music", one of the two pediment models on display at the First Dresden Court Theater (destroyed in a 1896 fire), was one of the most eloquent testimonies of Rietschel's great expertise and skill. Here, Rietschel succeeded in creating a rich group of characters in an almost painterly effect, wherein, he developed an imaginary drama surrounding gestures, expressions, and continuous variety in his composition. In 1832, shortly after his employment as a professor of sculpture at the Royal Academy of Art for the leading portraitists of royalty and the Saxon bourgeoisie, a few of Rietschel's finest portrait busts, such as the composer Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy and that of his own wife's, were featured.